The Tragic Heir
by Novice Comic Lover
Summary: What if the Heir trilogy focused more on Linda Downey and Leander Hastings? Spoiler alert. Switches point of view each chapter, first Linda and then Lee. Rated T, but some M scenes.
1. Chapter 1

Linda Downey had not had the most conventional life. Even as a child, she was different than the other kids. No one could resist her charms, meaning she could get her way with a sweet smile or a doe-eyed look. Her older sister Becka had always explained it away as being the nature of the youngest, saying that by being the baby of the family, she had a talent for commanding attention. Becka never envied her this talent though, as Becka herself was charming and lovable. But as Linda grew older, her talent for charming everyone around her became overwhelmingly and noticeably different, at least to her. She spent much of her freshman and sophomore years in high school in the library researching magic and studying her lineage for traces of similar oddities.

On a chance, she came across information that led her to find that she was what was called an enchanter and that she had relatives who had also been magical, though of different sorts. Linda soaked up all of the information she could find on the magical world she apparently belonged to, longing to understand all that she could about it. During her research, she had managed to get herself all the way to England, where so much knowledge seemed to be in store for her. While there, though, she had been found out by some other magical folk who had captured her and tried to sell her off into some version of slavery.

Luckily for Linda, a hero soon entered and managed to sneak her out of what was called "The Trade." That hero was Leander Hasting, a wizard. Leander, or Lee as he insisted she call him, had offered to help her flee and stay hidden, but because of her own experiences in the magical world, she convinced him, without even flexing her powers, to let her join him in his fight against the current system. Through her time in The Trade and from Lee's often passionate and spirited rants, she quickly learned that wizards were ruling the other magical people, including enchanters, with a vicious and cruel system that had been set up centuries ago. He intended to continue to undermine the current system by not only helping individuals such as herself, but by also somehow infiltrating the wizard council to completely rewrite the covenant and thus changing the system.

In this way, Leander reminded Linda of her sister Becka, who was always getting involved in some effort or another to change the world. It was the one thing about Lee that felt familiar and comforting. Everything else about him was startling and unsettling. He was good looking in an unconventional way, with the sharp angles of his face offset by the thick curls that fell gracefully all around him. His eyes were dark, deep, and sharp, always moving as if he couldn't settle permanently anywhere. His mouth usually set in a thin frown, but could turn into the most brilliant smile when Linda could make him laugh. He was serious and constantly in plotting mode, but on sporadic occasions he would insist on taking Linda out to see some part of whatever town they happened to be in at the time, saying how she had to actually see the world she lived in.

At some point during all of the time Linda spent with Lee, she fell helplessly in love with him. She never dreamed that he would return her affections, but one night, while they were enjoying a picnic under the wonderfully lit Eifel tower in Paris, Leander made his move. Linda's head spun as she leaned into Lee's kiss, while the rest of the world seemed to disappear. When his lips parted from hers, she quickly fell back to earth, her thoughts immediately trying to figure out what had happened. Just as Linda was sure that the romantic atmosphere of Paris had caused her to hallucinate, Leander admitted that he had fallen for her. She quickly returned the sentiment and their whirlwind romance began.

Linda tore herself away from Lee to go back home when her sister got married, and again when she was soon to go into labor with her first child. Linda sat nervously in the hospital waiting room, constantly looking for her brother-in-law to appear holding her nephew and beckoning her to congratulate her sister. But when he did come to get Linda, it was to usher her with concerned frowns and anxious twitches to come console Becka while they waited to find out what was wrong with their newborn son, Jackson Swift. After Linda had managed to convince Becka to sleep, she stood over her dying nephew in the infant ICU. The second she looked at Jack, Linda knew that what was wrong with him was most definitely magical.

Linda's first instinct was to call upon Hastings for help, but while holding the phone in her hands, she faltered. Leander had only once shared his family history with Linda, and it had been painfully difficult for both him to tell and for her to hear. She had pretended not to notice the tears he swept aside with his hand as he turned away at the thought of his wrecked family. After that, she had always hesitated to talk to him about her family, despite how much she wanted to. Because they were constantly running all over the world, and many times, trying to avoid being found, Linda had to distance herself from her family, and Becka especially. It was hard for her not to be able to keep in better contact with them, and it made it even worse that she basically had to act as if they didn't exist for Leander's sake. Now, she knew he would be knowledgeable about whatever problem plagued her nephew, but she was concerned at how he might respond. After considering her options, she contacted Jessamine Longbranch, who she knew not only for her skills in wizardy, but also for her medical career.

Unfortunately, Linda would regret that decision for years to come. First, Jessamine had tricked her by promising to save Jack by giving him the wizard stone he lacked and then putting in a warrior stone for her own purposes. Upon learning this, and all of the strings that Jessamine attached to the offer to save Jack, Linda immediately wanted to go to Leander, but something stopped her. Instead, she went to another trusted friend, Nick Snowbeard. A powerful and old wizard that she had actually been introduced to through Hastings, Linda trusted him possibly more than anyone else in the entire world. He had become the father figure in her life that she had lacked for far too long, and he constantly offered his support. Linda had poured her heart out to him about any tragedy that had come her way, and this time with Jack was no different. Nick proposed that he and some other trusted magical people who just happened to live in the area keep an eye on the boy. After three weeks of the neighbors keeping a vigilant eye on Jack and the town, Linda felt comfortable enough to go back to her life on the run with Hastings.

One night several months later while they were dining at their favorite hole in the wall restaurant in Rome, Linda broke down into silent sobs. Lee quickly paid the check and guided her back to their hotel, coaxing her with soothing coos the entire time. Once in the safety of their rented room, Linda had broken down with the whole story, telling Leander the gist of the trouble concerning her nephew, leaving out as many details as she could while still making some sense. Lee sat quietly the entire, the frown deepening on his angular face more and more as she spoke. When she was done, Leander made some confessions of his own. He told her about his history with her family. After learning that she was not the first woman in her family to fall for Leander, Linda gathered her things and left. She went back to Trinity, Ohio, where she cried to Nick, cooed over Jack, and insisted to Becka that she was completely fine.

But of course, she wasn't fine. While there was some anger, confusion, and hurt that she felt about all that Lee had told her about his relationship with Suzanna, Linda couldn't deny that she was still completely and irreversibly in love with Leander Hastings. But with just her luck, she found out she was pregnant with their child just as she was planning to rejoin him. The unexpected child just added to all of the rush of feelings she felt, and she confided her problem, as always, in Snowbeard. He tried, without success, to convince her to go back and tell Lee about his impending fatherhood. Instead, Linda used her contacts to end up in Canada with Genevieve LeCerc, a sorcerer who mostly stayed away from magic and the magic world. Ultimately, after giving birth to her beautiful son, who obviously favored his father, Linda decided to leave him with Genevieve. She forged his birth records, naming him Joseph McCauley, and concocting a story about his birth parents untimely death. She also set up a generous fund for him and filled out the paperwork to become his legal guardian, which she would do through a law firm so as to keep her connection to him as remote as possible. It tore her up inside, but she couldn't risk Leander finding out, nor any of his or her enemies. Through all of their adventures, they had racked up plenty of enemies, so giving up their son was the only plan Linda could devise to keep him safe.

But Linda knew she wouldn't be able to keep the secret of their son to herself if she crossed paths with Lee again, so she quietly kept up with his movements and stayed away from him. She had already done so when she had found that she was expecting Joseph, but even after she had left her son, who she affectionately called Seph, she continued to keep her distance. She found it extremely difficult to stay away from Leander, especially since she was keeping up with his every move, and Seph, who she constantly kept tabs on, but it did help that now she had the comfort of her sister, who soon divorced her husband, and her nephew, whom she doted on as often as possible. When she wasn't on the run from being discovered by some wizard enemy – or even Hastings – Linda spent as much time as possible in Trinity. Her trips there were never long enough, though she had come so accustomed to being on the move that staying much longer than a few days would probably have felt unnatural.

Years passed, and then the day came that Linda dreaded. Jack's power had been discovered. After a long adventure that ended with Jack knowing much more than Linda had ever hoped he'd have to find out about magic, his family history, and the wizard world. His two closest friends, Will and Fitch, were also let in on some of the information, which Linda felt uneasy about. She loved both boys very much, even insisting that they call her Aunt Linda like Jack did, but she worried that Jack was in enough danger without two Anaweir being so knowledgeable about his unusual condition. But Nick assured her that his friends could only help Jack through what was sure to be a difficult transition. Nick also offered to train Jack in wizardry, but with his offer, Linda was reminded of other training that Jack needed. Jack needed training to hone the warrior power that thrummed in his chest. He needed a great warrior teacher and Linda just happened to know one.

So Linda stared at the phone, dreading this possibly more than anything else. She took a deep breath, remembering that making a similar phone call when Jack had been born without a stone so long ago would have changed the entire course of her, and several other loved ones, lives. As the phone rang, she could feel her heart beating furiously against her chest. After two and a half rings, there was a click and then a hesitant yet powerful, "Hello?"

"Lee?" Linda practically whispered into the phone. "It's me. Linda. I need your help."


	2. Chapter 2

Leander Hastings had been a very unhappy man for most of his life. At a young age, his father and brother had been killed, his mother driven insane, and his sister kidnapped and eventually killed. He had spent many years looking for revenge, and after so very long, he had not achieved near as much as he would have liked. He had loved and lost so much with just the troubles his family had faced, but then he had fallen in love with Suzanna. After her death, he had mourned her, choosing to remain alone despite the advances so many women so often made.

That is, until he met Linda Downey. He had been running one of his many schemes against the wizard council when he had found her being traded into slavery. He helped her escape, planning on sending her on her way as soon as possible, but she had insisted on helping him to change the course of magical history. She had a fierce and stubborn nature that reminded him so much of his sister, and he couldn't help but give in to her, though he knew it had very little to do with her enchantress powers and more to do with the very nature of her. Hastings tried with great difficulty to keep his distance from her, but one night when she glowed beneath the Eiffel Tower and the wine made his head swim, he let go of all of his resistance and kissed her, spilling the secret of his affection for her shortly after he tore his lips from hers. The second she had admitted her own feelings for him, he had given up any hope of possibly keeping himself from her for another second, and thus their relationship began.

But even quicker than it started, it came to a screeching halt. Linda had made a couple of visits to her sister, though she never told Lee much. He supposed it was because the horrific history of his own family that he had shared with her had kept her from sharing her own family stories. But after one such visit, Linda came back to him in obvious distress. He had tried to coax out whatever troubled her for weeks, but she only dove further into their work against the wizard council. After a while, he gave up, assuming that things would just return to normal after a while. But after several months, Linda was still constantly distracted and depressed, and Hastings could think of no way to cheer her up. He took her to one of their favorite hole in the wall restaurants while they were working in Rome, but instead of cheering her up as he had hoped, it made her cry. He quickly took her back to their room and swept her into his arms, cradling her close to him as she wept. She spilled the whole story about her nephew and the terrible situation with Jessamine Longbranch. When she was done, for whatever reason, Leander felt himself inclined to share some secrets that he too had held back from her, and they also had to do with her family. After Linda heard about his relationship with Suzanna, she packed and left him.

Hastings was up in arms without Linda. At first he had promised himself that he would keep his distance, knowing that she would find him if she was willing to forgive him his secrets and his past. But as time passed, he grew more worried about her. He began trying to track her down, starting by looking for any traces of her family. Despite his skill and effort, he was unable to find Linda anywhere, though. He had tried tracking down her family, only to narrow it down to somewhere in the Midwest not far from where Suzanna had once lived. Then he had tried searching through the long list of enemies they had piled up, in case she had gotten herself in some sort of trouble, but no matter how hard he looked, Linda could not be found. Years passed and Hastings search dead ended. He told himself to give up, and he even managed to focus on other matters, but he never really stopped looking for Linda.

He was back in his house in England for a while, enjoying a nice break from traveling and adventure as he plotted his next move when the phone call came. He was confounded as to who would be calling on him at such an early hour of the morning, but he answered anyways with a firm, "Hello?"

"Lee?" a whisper purred into his ear. "It's me. Linda. I need your help."

"Linda?" Hastings sucked in a breath like he hadn't breathed in years. So many thoughts rang through his head. First, he realized that he had immediately recognized her voice even though he hadn't heard it in so long. Then, he felt his heart pounding away in his chest at the thought of her. His Linda is alive, and safe, and… needs his help? "What could you possibly need my help with after all of these years?"

"Lee, I…" Leander frowned as she stalled, knowing he sounded harsh and angry when all he wanted to do was ask her where she was and how she was. "I told you about my nephew, Jack. Well, people are after him. They've figured it out. He knows everything now and he's already been attacked and we went to dig up Suzanna's sword and…"

"Shadowslayer," Hastings interrupted Linda's rambling as some memories that he hadn't thought of in years suddenly sprang to mind as if they had happened just yesterday. "Yes, I remember it."

"Right…" Linda muttered, trailing off into an awkward silence. Lee frowned as the memory of the night she left crowded his thoughts, but it faded away as she cleared her throat loudly and purposefully. "Anyways, Jack is going to need training if he's going to keep surviving the attacks that are bound to keep coming. I mean he's basically been surviving by pure luck all of these years and it's bound to run out. I know I probably don't have the right to ask a favor of you, but I don't know who else to ask. I mean you do know how to train warriors and…"

"Of course, Linda," Leander cut her off once again as he wondered when she had started to ramble so much. He had always remembered her as being brief, bold even, and to the point. "I'd be happy to train your nephew."

"Really?" Linda asked flatly.

"Yes, really," Lee almost laughed. She sounded so skeptical as if she had planned on having to beg him into it. It took almost everything in him to keep from telling her that he would do anything if it meant seeing her again. "Just tell me when and where."

"Well if you could come here? To Trinity, Ohio. His mother, my sister, Becka, doesn't know anything that's going on. But Snowbeard is here, and he's going to train him in wizardry. Plus Jack's still in school, so it's probably best for him to stay here. You'll need some sort of cover though for why you're spending so much time with him and what you're doing. Maybe you can get some work at his school? Or maybe you can say you're helping him with soccer. Or…"

"Linda," Leander sighed as he cut her off again. He could have listened to her voice for forever, but he was desperate to see her. "I'm sure I can figure something out."

"Right. You're good at coming up with…" Linda stopped herself and Hastings was grateful that she hadn't said something they'd both regret.

"I'll come as soon as I can," he offered.

"Okay," she paused and Leander hesitated, wondering if he should break the silence first with the apology he had gone over in his head for years. He didn't get the change though. "Thanks. I really appreciate this, Lee."

"Of course," Lee nodded and abruptly stopped as he realized she couldn't see him. "Where should I meet you?"

"I, uh… won't be around," Linda answered. "I have other work to do."

"More important than helping your nephew?" Leander cursed himself as the slight slipped out of his lips, already knowing how petty he sounded before she even responded.

"It's actually doing this to help him," Linda snapped. "I'm leading some false trails to keep people away from him. To keep Jack safe."

"Right," he frowned, his mind beginning to come around to the thought that perhaps she had set up false trails to deter him from finding her for all of these years. "I'll make it Trinity as quickly and discreetly as possible then."

"Good," Lee smiled sadly as he heard the familiar click on the other end of the phone after Linda's short response. He had never been a happy man, but in a weird twist of fate, the future was beginning to look a little brighter. He had not only found out that the love of his life was still alive, but he was closer to her than he had been in sixteen years. It wasn't much, but when it came to love, Leander Hastings was used to settling for what he could get.


End file.
